Ten
Heath
It’s two-something in the morning and I can’t sleep. My pillow is warm; my sheets feel heavy on my skin. I flip my pillow over and push the blanket down to my waist with a huff.
My phone sits next to me. I pick it up with the hope that doomscrolling will help lull me back to sleep. In my messages, the last one is from Teagan to schedule our next appointment. Even a quick thought of getting her naked makes my cock twitch against my leg. If I text her, she’ll be pissed about me waking her, remind me about the schedule, and somehow manage to call me a dumbass six times. The thought makes me smile.
I swear the typing indicator shows up for a second, but when I blink, it’s gone. A figment of my horny imagination. My thumb opens the text box, but as I stare at the letters, I change my mind. Teagan already gave me an extra day last Sunday. I can wait a few more hours.
Doesn’t mean I like it, though.
~
Work always lifts my mood, which shows I chose the right profession, regardless of what my dad thinks. He wanted me to go into business, get my MBA, and join him in representing athletes going pro—a constant reminder of what my accident stole from me. Helping others recover from serious injuries, walk again, or accept their new physical normal, heals me too.
The hours fly by when I do what I love, especially when I get to work with great patients. I’m pretty fond of the one I’m with right now.
Her name is Shelley. Blond, athletic but still curvy, she’s attractive for sure. She came to us after having surgery for a gnarly ACL tear, but she loves the exercises I give her, smiling through the whole session even when I’m trying to kick her ass. It’s a nice smile, which is good considering how difficult it is not to look at her tits.
My hands hover below hers while she balances on the Bosu ball. Her left knee holds strong, but the injured one twitches medially. “Knees over toes,” I say. Her knee moves back into the proper position. I’m great at my job, but it’s easier when you have a patient willing to do the work.
The timer on my watch beeps. “That’s it. Come on down.” She takes my hands and carefully rocks herself off the ball. “You’re doing great.”
“Thank you.” She smiles like I hit on her or something. “I’m feeling great.”
“No other tenderness or pain?”
“Nope.”
“That’s good. Just keep up with the regimen from Dr. Bennett and don’t slack. I’ll know if you do, and I’ll make you pay for it,” I tease with a grin. Her cheeks redden when she looks away. Yeah, I know . I’m hot . “See you next week, Shelley.”
She can barely look at me when she says, “See you next week, Heath.”
She’s into me, and I’m just a few hours from getting into someone else. I can’t think about that right now.
When she leaves, I take her paperwork back to the office. Dr. Bennett, who lets us all call him by his first name, Dro, stands at his desk rapid-firing notes into the computer the way he always does. His fingers fly over the keys while his eyes stay fixed on his screen. He doesn’t even glance my way when he says, “Looks like she’s doing well.”
The dude is a beast. Six foot six, built like the pro-level wide receiver he almost was. His beard is always edged up, fade always clean, with that bright, Hollywood-white smile. I want to be like him one day. Forty, still in great shape, still scoring twentysomethings.
“She’s progressing quicker than expected,” I say. “She has no trouble with her balancing exercises or flexion, and no visible swelling. Should we bump her up to the next phase?”
“Let’s stay with the plan for now. The last thing we want is reinjury.”
“Sounds good.” I walk to my desk behind him and pull up her file to enter the notes.
My phone buzzes on the desk next to me. A reminder text from Teagan. She always acts like I’ll forget, as if she thinks I don’t want to be inside her as much as humanly possible. She’s crazy, but she still turns me on. I move my hips to adjust my semi.
Just six hours left. Time can’t fly by fast enough.
“What are you grinning about?” Dro asks. I swear he has eyes on the back of his head.
“Nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing.” He turns to face me, leaning an elbow on his desk. “It looks like you got away with murder.”
I laugh. I’m about to murder some pu — “Nah, I just locked down some plans for tonight.”
“Plans? You have a date?”
“Kind of.”
“Ah, you have the fun part that usually comes after a date, huh?”
It’s hard to tell where the line is drawn between us. I know the bra size of the woman he slept with last weekend, but I don’t know where he grew up, if he has family, or anything else people would usually know about someone they’re around fifty hours a week. I’ve worked for him since my internship started last fall. After nine months, I’ve given up trying to know him, and have accepted this is the only way we’ll connect. He’s no different than anyone else around me. “You get it.”
“Who is it this time?” he asks.
I begin my practiced lie, but stop, realizing he is one of the few people I talk to who is outside my circle. I don’t have to lie to him. “Her name’s Teagan.”
“And what’s Teagan got goin’ on?”
I feel my smile spread. “I’m not gonna lie. She’s hot, man. She’s got a ‘Run This Town’ body.”
He looks confused. “A what?”
“You know.” I recite the questionable genius’s lyrics about G-strings and beestings until Dro cuts me off with a groan.
“Oh, hell no. Don’t ever say that again,” he says with a laugh. “But a white girl with a fat ass? That’s a win.”
“She’s not white, her parents are,” I explain. “She was adopted from an orphanage in Ethiopia when she was two, and her parents changed her name. Same with her brothers.”
Dro lets out a huh like he’s impressed. “You seem to know a lot about this girl.”
“I do, yeah. She’s my . . . mutual friend.” I regret my unintentional pause. “She’s planning everything for our friend’s wedding that we’re in together. Since I’m going to be stuck with her all summer, I convinced her to let me get in her all summer too.”
Dro laughs. “Your sneaky link is your best friend’s friend. Someone you’ll be at public events with.”
I don’t get what he’s saying. “Yeah?”
His grin tilts into a smirk. “Your sneaky link doesn’t sound so sneaky.”
“It is. Seriously, we have it locked down.”
“Man, to be twenty-three again.” He turns back around and resumes typing. “Go ahead and get out of here. I’m sure you need to shower and manscape or something.”
“Really? I can go?”
“Yep.” He holds out a fist. “Give her my best.”
I bump his knuckles with mine. “I will after I give her mine.”
~
I can’t remember where I parked, making it that much harder to figure out which black BMW 4 Series is mine. It also makes it hard to tell if I’m surrounded by people just like me, or if I’m becoming like them .
My car chirps in the distance and I remember I parked behind the light this time. On my way, my phone buzzes again. Thinking it’s Teagan asking to move up our time, my smile perks up, but when I see who it really is, I get nervous.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Heath.” She sounds upset, making my heart break. “I don’t want to be here anymore. Can you please come get me?”
“Mom.” I hate being powerless to help her. I’d rather drive my car into the Hudson while chained to the steering wheel than see her hurting, but I can’t change things. My father is in control. “Dad said you were supposed to stay the full two weeks. Did you talk to him?”
“He’s out of town again. I don’t need to be here.” At this point, I can tell she’s crying. “Please, come get me.”
I brace myself against my car with a hand. Dad has made it clear that the choice isn’t up to me. I’m already on thin ice with him, but I would do anything for my mom.
“All right. I’m on my way. Just hang on, okay?”
I know how this will end. Badly. Very badly.